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Slow Motion Contact Explosive - Nitrogen Triiodide

submitted by Aard Vark

(oritteropo)
9 years 6 months 2 weeks ago

YouTube Description:

Nitrogen triiodide is a highly unstable substance that detonates when disturbed. So we disturbed it.
Subscribe for regular science videos: http://bit.ly/RiSubscRibe
And if you can explain what's going on with the flash of light, let us know!

Nitrogen triiodide is so unstable that even something like a mosquito landing on it can set it off. Three iodine atoms cluster around one side of a nitrogen atom. Being crowded around one end causes something called bond strain as the atoms repel each other in a small space. The result is that the molecule is prone to falling apart, explosively.

If you think you can explain the flash of light before the explosion, let us know in the comments below.

(H/T @eric3579)

2 Comments

Retroboy says...

Best part of this awesome splodey-filled video: the host said "I don't know, but I suspect...".

More people need to do this.

Stormsinger

says...

My favorite explosive! Completely stable when wet, but fantastically sensitive when it dries.

Pro-tip: don't store this stuff in a bottle for long periods. The liquids can evaporate right through the cap. The good side is that all that iodine definitely disinfects the cuts caused by the resulting splinters.